CULTURALLY RELEVANT - REALLY?

I recently saw a blog about the movie, “The Wolf of Wall Street.”  Frankly, I never thought for a minute that I might enjoy watching it. The story line, the trailers, the hype… it all added up to junk food for me.

But then this blog page came up and there was a serious question in there about how Christians should prepare to watch, or actually watch this movie and my hackles rose. But, as I read, I realized that this answered one of the questions I have about how Christians make social choices in their entertainment: Apparently if it is “culturally relevant” that makes it something that should be watched, or at least can be watched with good conscience.

Now, the blogger is not saying that: he seems to be saying that this is implied in how many Christians choose their social activities. Personally this whole idea is repugnant to me. To me the very fact that it is socially relevant tells me immediately that it is not worth watching.

Don’t we get our fill of social relevance watching the news, or many of the shows on TV? Don’t we get the idea of what is going on out there in the lives of people who act out these things right in front of us, all over the place: TV – Books – Magazines – Concerts – Reality shows – Award shows – News programs? Don’t we have enough saturation of “relevance” in our lives without attending movies that blast those things into our brains through our eyes and ears until we spin with the effects? Isn’t that enough?

Isn’t it true that God’s instructions for filling our minds is all about filling it with things that are “true – noble – right – pure – lovely – admirable – Anything that is excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4:8)?  And yet we choose to feed on the foul things already in our minds when we eat and drink of “social relevance;” things which are presented as things to admire and participate in and even seek after for our own lives.

Consider our ancient relatives, the Israelites:

They continually concerned themselves with being “culturally relevant:” In Egypt they chose to blend in with the culture and came out of Egypt idol worshipers, even though the Egyptians made them captives. And as they traveled through the desert, they longed to be back where they had been, longing for the falsities that they remembered which had them “a part of things” in Egypt.

Time after time, the Israelites chose to turn to things that were culturally relevant, and it threw them into sin everytime. But, hey, they didn’t want to stand out as the “weird” people: They wanted to be up to date on all things social and it led them to worshiping other gods and to celebrating their social standing in the community because of that.

Is that really what we want to do? Is being able to discuss the latest obnoxious movie with “friends” at “the water cooler” really a good goal in our lives? Is “buddying up” with our co-workers or neighbors the best plan if it means we let God down in His expectations for us. Is dimming our Light for Him the reason we exist? Or are we supposed be a “bright light in the midst of darkness;” perhaps even an example of how not to fill our brains with the wrong information?

Cultural relevance is a great thing when discussing how to present the Gospel to people who resist hearing it or need special word pictures drawn for them to understand it at all. But taking part in activities known to be detrimental to ourselves as well as to those to whom we seek to present Christ is not warranted in Scripture; or anywhere else.

May we strive to discern what is true and admirable and what is not by listening to You - The Truth – and not by the activity’s cultural relevance. May we remember that, though we do not live by the law or a list of rules, we are, none the less, held accountable by the Word and words you have given us to help us understand what it is you desire of us and for us. May we be just a little more discerning about our social behavior and choices as we walk through this year of 2014; keeping alert to the fact that Satan will lie to us about cultural relevance in order to get us to veer off the path that you would have us walking.

Lord, help us to think twice before accepting something as valuable and admirable to us just because it is there in front of us. In Jesus name. Amen.

WE SHALL NOT WANT

Well, this morning I am back into the Psalms: chapter 23, verse 1. Sometimes I do not get very far before I am stunned by what I am thinking.

It all started with the difference between the King James and the New International Versions: …I shall not want or I shall not be in want. I have long surmised that those extra words in the NIV were superfluous and I still prefer to quote the KJV on this.

Truth is that either way, this promise can be easily misinterpreted to mean that our lives with Christ will be a “Bed of Roses.” We will coast along with all the grand elegance of a king or queen entering a room and all will be well for us forever. Wrong.

Even if our lives can be said to be a “Bed of Roses” with Christ, we must always remember that non-hybrid roses come with lots and lots of thorns. These thorns are actually there to prevent us from fooling with them and, therefore, not cutting them and taking them into the house to die. They are meant to beautify the world around us as they are, but we have found a way to enjoy them indoors in spite of the thorns…gloves!

Meanwhile, this is not to say that we should not cut them. The roses are doomed to die on the bush if not in our vases. And taking the bloom off the bush actually encourages the bush to grow more roses. It’s a win-win situation. But many a gallant gentlemen has ended up with pricked fingers in his efforts to bring a lady a rose or two.

Our lives follow suit: If we know the Lord, we will blossom and God will use pruning to bring us to producing even more blooms. We will have thorns in our lives, but God will never abandon us to those thorns in an effort to not be hurt by the thorns when He is working with us. He will go out of his way to make sure that all that we truly need is provided for us in abundance:

Give and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be pour into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38

Basically, the more of ourselves we give to God, the more abundant our lives will be in our relationship to Him.

You see, this is not about physical things or earthly gain; this is about our relationship with God, Himself, and the heavenly gains we will receive from it. Many of those gains will benefit our walk here on the earth; but all will benefit our future relationship with God and our Lord Jesus Christ when we meet them in Heaven.

Psalm 23 is all about our relationship with our Lord through a look at the relationship He has chosen to have with us as our Lord. He generously wills to provide abundant life (John 10:10); but our abundance is in our relationship with Him and what we do to keep ourselves close to Him. So long as we keep giving ourselves and all that we have to Him, He will keep providing abundance. But, regardless of whether we choose to walk that closely with Him or not, He will never abandon us. He is our Shepherd. He will keep us moving along toward a more abundant life, even if we refuse an abundant life right up to going to meet Him in Heaven.

He is our Shepherd. He the one we are to recognize. He is the one we are to follow. He is the one we must focus on every single day. He will lead us to wonderment and glorious living. No one else and nothing else can do that.

May we be absolutely habitual in aiming our life toward you, Lord, every single day or our lives. May we give so much of ourselves to you that we can be fully used of you to bring abundance into other lives, and into ours as well. May we “be still and know that You are God” and follow you to still waters and green pastures no matter how hopeless that seems to us at the time.

Lord, help us to believe that Psalm 23 can be true in our lives as we aim to follow you, and only you, in this life. In Jesus name and for his sake, Amen

MAY WE BE GENEROUS TO OURSELVES AT TIMES?

Many of the women who surround me are quite good at pampering themselves from time to time. The closest I come is actually getting a hair cut every three months and soaking my feet for doing my own pedicure. I have never been one to spend a lot of time on myself. That has been quite handy in times when I did not have time to spend on myself.

But now, I am getting older and I am considering being a little nicer to me. One of the first things I have decided is that I will invite someone to lunch more often. This is not only generous to them, it is generous to me: I love sitting with a friend and enjoying each other over a meal. It is totally refreshing. But I have been lax about that because I have to watch my budget. I don’t need to go to lunch more often. So maybe I should drop that idea. But wait. Lunch is way more fun for me than going clothes shopping and buying nothing, or going for a mani/pedi or a massage. Those things are not exciting to me.

Recently I went with a friend to IKEA and I seriously enjoyed myself because I have always been fascinated with design and furniture. I even worked at it for awhile. This trip was pure pleasure and I enjoyed every minute. But I do not easily allow myself to do things just for the pure pleasure of it. I seem to need a reasonable reason for doing anything.

Now I have been presented with an opportunity to gain something I have desired for a very long time: I have desired it and put it off as just that, a desire rather than a need; but my body is telling me that I just might need this item for now and for the future.

The conundrum: It is a steal but I must buy it this weekend and I do not have cash to purchase it with. I do have a small limit credit card. Should I use it? Should I not use it? Strike while the iron is hot? Or let thing get cold?

My natural response, as with 99% of any purchasing I do outside of groceries, is to let it get cold and risk losing this opportunity. However this op came just when I am learning again to be generous, and I need to learn to let God be generous with me, even if it means I will have to pay for it next month instead of this month. That is only a week away.  What to do? What to do?

Well, I have decided to be generous with myself and grab this offer while it is available, not just to please myself but also to please the one who made the offer for me to get this. Actually, she has been very generous to offer to help me get this and I think it is time to let her be so. Sometimes being generous to ourselves can be a way of being generous for someone else's sake as well. I do think that God has said to “go for it’ and I am doing that. I am accepting her offer.

Frankly, this is a bit of a bold move for me. I don’t even have kids, but I always put my “self” needs last on my list of things to do. I am looking forward to tomorrow when we will go and purchase this item. It will be a great day. I am excited.

But a clarification of that “self” needs thing: when it comes to food and to sleep I pretty much hoard all that I can. That is where I must do some hard work in becoming more generous. I pray that I will break through to a new way of thinking about these things in this new year.

But I also need to work on being more generous to myself. I am, after all, God’s Beloved. He wants to pamper me with great things and I should let Him, even if it is just going shopping with a friend and enjoying the day.*

*Note to friends: NOT clothes shopping. NOT! Don’t even think about it! Arrrgh!

May we learn to take as much delight in who we are as God does; and may we learn to enjoy experiencing life on this earth as much as we can until we reach a better place: our real home in eternity. God give us joy in who we are and who you see when you look at us. Bless us with your Love and Joy as we travel here on earth.  In Jesus Name, Amen.

THE ANNE OF GREEN GABLES COINCIDENCE

Recently my cousin gave me instructions on how to grab Kindle PC. This was the beginning of a wonderful adventure. I have been able to download several good books for free and now I am able to take advantage of 99 cent offers and bypass the S&H charges that makes even 75 cent books on line end up costing $6.00 all together. The Anne of Green Gables series, which contains all but two of the stories, cost a mere 99 cents and I went for it.

Also, at this time there is a community group of young thespians who are putting on a play at our church called, “Anne of Green Gables, the Musical.” Do you recognize a “coincidence” here? Since there are not coincidences in God’s timing of things I am assuming that this was a planned occurrence.

This, plus other things, has pushed me toward trying to read some of the books I did not read as a young person. Somehow I did not read those books called the “Classics.”  I seemed content and even excited to read historical novels and biographies instead. (Although, I confess that as an adult I purchased a large set of “Classics” because they would look cool on my fancy piece of furniture which held books and knick-knacks. That was 20 years ago and I still cannot bring myself to wade through them.)

Since the screen is a glaring white and my eyes are sensitive to that, I will have to take it slowly; but I will take it. I have been captured by it in the first three chapters. And I have found a wonder in it already: one that can be applied to our Christian lives and the behavior of our hearts.

We are told early on that the man who will be a lead character in this story is seen to be – if I may put this impolitely – ugly. He, himself, admits that he is a pretty scary looking guy and that small children avoid him when they pass.

I have always said of myself that I was okay with my not very pretty appearance so long as I did not make dogs bark or scare small children. Apparently He does scare small children.

But when he and Anne meet, Anne looks at him and sees only a beautiful man who is going to take her in and give her a home. She does not see what other children see; she does not shy away from him. She is looking at him through her heart, not her eyes. I think that is beautiful and I think that it pretty much represents how God looks at us and how we should look at each other and at ourselves.

I am impressed with this whole scenario: looking at people with our hearts instead of our eyes.

The thing is that Jesus told us to love. Jesus loves us and gave us Love as fruit of the Spirit. The only reason that we can truly love at all is “because He first loved us.” But we really don’t grasp the full meaning of that in our human short sightedness. We truly tend to love by sight and sound and even smell. We truly trip over those things when, in God’s scheme of things, they matter not at all.

We can very easily find reasons to not love because sin blooms all around us and is as unattractive as thistles in the fields. We do not wish to pick those thistles and take them home to put in vases, so we ignore them or cut them down or pull them up. But we do not find them lovely - unless they are artichokes. Yes. Artichokes are thistles that are edible, and their blooms are lovely, so they are acceptable thistles.

But most thistles are easily rejected; as are many human beings who do not quite meet our standards of loveliness. They may be rough in their language; they may be rough in their appearance; they may be too old to matter as real people; they may be too young and “weird” for our tastes. There are a lot of ways in which people “fail” to draw the love out of us.

One “people” we all recognize as hard to love is the homeless population around us. How shall I put this… we seem to pretty much write them off. There are many good and righteous reasons for that in way too many cases. But that is not an excuse.

As I passed yet another pan handler at a popular street corner, I was once again torn over what to do. I mostly do not carry money, but even if I have it I mostly do not hesitate to say I do not and go on my way. That sounds horrible to me even if I know that some are making more money than some working people. I have thought of carrying extra food in my car to hand them when I pass their way, but I would have to stop and get the food from the back seat area and traffic will not always allow that. So I asked God what I could possibly do in these instances. Quite honestly, He suggested I pray for them. Ahhh… What? Pray for them, Cheryl. : )

You know, that’s not a bad idea. : ) They are people, after all. And it is people that we are sent to love. And the poor and the orphans are on the top of that list.

Well, I confess that the homeless annoy me more than they encourage me to care about them. But the truth that multitudes of them have come to desire the life style of homelessness does not mean we are not to care about them. Many, many do not love the lifestyle and are only looking for a way out.

And, but for God, we could ALL be homeless, even those who have jobs or other income. Housing is costly and meager income from a job or other source is often just not enough to keep a roof over one’s head.

So I have been challenged to pray for those I must pass by (and I don’t pass by every single one.) It is my responsibility to remember to do that. They deserve a prayer because a prayer is a big thing when that prayer reaches the ears of God in Heaven.

But we must also give God the opportunity to say, “Yes, give them what you have,” even when we suspect they may spend it on drugs or alcohol. God knows their weaknesses and loves them anyway; so should we. They may actually spend it on food because they may actually be hungry. Only God knows and only God needs to know. We need to love and listen to Him and be willing to do His bidding.

That does not mean that we are to give out money willy-nilly. That means that we are to become sensitive to God’s guidance in even these small things, and be open to giving if that is what God wants.

And don’t forget that our churches have ways of funding for the poor which they use to provide food and comfort and other help to the poor; we can start by giving there and those gifts will expand exponentially as God runs with it.

May we all give serious generosity a try this year: Take someone to lunch; provide a meal for someone; have someone over to share time and food with you and your family; take time to sit and listen to someone who needs to be listened to….  And may we learn to love through our hearts rather than through our minds and thoughts alone.

God, bring us up to use the love you have given us to extreme dimensions this year. Move us to think out of the box and to love like we never have before. In Jesus name, Amen.

WHAT JOY IS THERE IN KNOWING ABOUT HELL?

This morning my day started all wrong. Not bad wrong, just wrong. The first thing was that I overslept. The second was that the first thing that came my way was a phone call from my insurance agent which set me off on a totally weird bunch of thinking about where I used to live. There are grounds for that, but I won’t go into them except to say I may not be able to get online with my insurance company because I cannot remember my past addresses. Sigh

So then I am trying to do my reading for the day and guess where my mind keeps wandering: To places I have lived but do not have a record of the addresses.

Finally, in desperation, I cried out to the Lord to help me pay attention to what I was reading. Wonder of wonders, - :) - He did. When will I learn, when will I learn!?

This morning’s reading was again in J. Vernon McGee’s commentary and it was the finish up of Psalm 21. God has been highly praised for answered prayer and now we are looking at the coming result for the enemies that He has here on earth: Psalm 21:8-9

Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies; thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: The Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

Revelation closes out with the strongest pictures of hell which can be found. Chapters 18-22 speak plainly of this fire which will receive and make an end to all death, even hell itself.  Not only will there be a hell for those who do not know Christ, there will be a fiery end for them and for the hell they reside in. The earth will be rid of all that is sin.

McGee cites an instance where a man told him “I don’t believe in hell!” McGee then said, “Do you know that you are in disagreement with the Bible?” “I don’t care,” he said, I don’t believe there is a hell.”  McGee answered, “You will someday. The day will come when you will find that it is true.” And with that he ceased to argue.

We learn quickly that arguing with someone about God will not achieve anything except to make both look like fools. God can make His own arguments in the hearts of others. Our job is to state the truth, with no embarrassment or anger and to leave the rest to God. Yes, we can agree to disagree without feeling we have let God down. He is the one who will take what we said and use it to His glory.

But where is the Joy and the Peace in knowing about hell at all?  Why is it an appropriate subject for us to know and understand?

Well, I suppose that it is certainly necessary for us to believe that all sinners are in serious danger from the very existence of hell. Otherwise, why would we care whether they believe or do not believe? How urgent would our calling be if we do not believe in hell and hell fire?

But we also need to remember constantly what it is that we have been saved from. And we need to become comfortable with the fact that one day we will rejoice that those who refused God and encouraged sin in this world will not be just dead, but totally destroyed in the lake of fire.

Rejoice? You, bet. We will be there watching this destruction and the 24 elders, the angels and those who believe will not only watch but will sing, “Hallelujah!.” Revelation chapter 19 is the true Hallelujah Chorus and is where Handel gets his inspiration. Singing Hallelujah is a beautiful, wonder filled thing to do. It is not a funeral dirge of “woe.” It is a celebratory exclamation of the Highest Praise for God’s faithfulness to Himself and to us.

We suffer from the same results of Original Sin as the rest of the world. We, however, have been saved from the same end result as unbelievers and sin encouragers on this earth. We have been saved through faith in Christ; and we have the hope of being totally released from the clutches of, and even the very presence of, sin in our lives or anywhere around us. That is something to rejoice about and to hope in as we travel this journey on earth.

May we realize that we have been gloriously saved from a truly horrible end of life; and may we see that we can rejoice that one day God will rid this earth of all sin and evil through fire. May we also stand firm in our belief that God will be victorious over all sin, and affects of sin, in and on this earth. And may we sing “Hallelujah” with renewed spirit and joy, knowing that it is the highest praise of all to our God.

Even so, come Lord Jesus! Amen.

BUT GOD JUST MIGHT HAVE OTHER PLANS

So here I was reading J Vernon McGee on Psalm 21 and I got all the way to vs 6. Then McGee said something that threw me way off track: He said, “But God…”

My friend, Casey Lute, wrote a book with that name. It was a study of the simplicity of God’s mighty work among those in the Bible and among us in the world today. One thing he hoped for was that people would find comfort in these words… and Jesus did. Jesus knew all about “But God.” And Jesus knew that no matter what happened He was safe in His Father’s will.

McGee was discussing the prophecy spoken of in Hebrews 5:7 concerning the answers the Father had for His Son’s prayers:

“Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard…”

Then McGee expressed what many of us feel about losses and pain in our own little world:

“How was He heard? He died!”

BUT GOD

“But God raised Him from the dead.”  And I am thinking, even as Jesus prayed, He knew that His Father had a better plan: a willful, necessary plan that would bring us the Salvation that nothing else could ever bring. He accepted His Father’s will and went willingly to His death knowing that the Father’s long term plan was the best plan of all.

The question for us is, “Do we live life according to “But God?” Do we accept the direction God has for us, no matter what? Do we even care what His plans are as we plead for a change in what is happening to us? Do we find the Peace of God within us as we seek to live through our troubled earthly life? Or do we wrap ourselves in misery, accepting misery as a way of life and a comfortable place to be?

Sometimes misery is the easy choice and for many it is actually a comfort: a safe place to be; "we wouldn’t be there if God did not want us to be there," so we will suffer in silence and be a martyr for Him. Looking for the Joy and Peace that He offers is just too hard, so we relax into our discomfort and stay there waiting for Him to rescue us from our misery.

Jesus did not rest in His discomfort. He took that discomfort with Him into the Joy and Peace of knowing that all that would happen was well planned for Him by His Father. And He knew that the safest, most comforting place He could possibly be was in His Father’s will.

He did not come without first asking His Father to remove the pain that He would suffer. (And I believe that is the pain of the separation necessary for completion of His task, not the physical pain of the cross. But that is just me.) Jesus discussed this whole thing thoroughly in His prayers in the Garden. But in the end He came willingly and peacefully forward to do what needed to be done.

This sets a simple pattern for us: Feel the pain, grieve the loss, but settle things with God about being willing to recognize and rejoice n His will. Praising Him in our pain is difficult; but the results are fantastic. The fruit of the Spirit will grow strong in us as we submit to the agonies of this earth while keeping our eyes on the eternal Joy and Peace that will be ours some day.

How willing are we too suffer pain and loss with grieving and sorrow; and yet keep our hearts set on that great hope that lies before us when we will be removed from pain and suffering, and we will Rejoice in the Glory of God forever. And how many of us are intent in walking through this life with a “But God” attitude, knowing that He wills to make all things right for those who love Him, and believe in Jesus Christ. No matter what!

May we remember, even in the worst of pain, God’s Love and God’s plans for us exceed any pain we may ever feel. May we remember that God not only hears our pleas, but wants to hear our every pleas, and that He never “does not hear” our prayers.

God heard Jesus’ every prayer and answered each and every one of them, even when it was with “My plan is better than your plan.” And He hears our every prayer, too. But God sometimes has other plans for us than those which we are seeking. And His plans are the best plans; and they will bring peace to us and Glory to Him in the end.

May God bless us with confidence in His will for our lives, even when things are not going our way. May we remember that God sometimes has a way planned for us that we do not see and may answer our prayers with “But I…”

And may we pray that “not our will, but thine be done.” Amen

REMEMBERING THAT JESUS PRAYED FOR US

This morning I concluded that the troubling thing for me when reading scripture is that I cannot read it all, all at once, every day. It is so full of Joy and Wisdom that I find myself overwhelmed, at times, with how much there is to learn and understand and keep in our hearts and minds while we wander this earth as sojourners; nomads seeming to have no direction, yet walking straight to God.

When studying Psalm 21:2, I was sent to John 17 where I was overwhelmed with the deep, deep love of Christ for His Father and for us: He prayed for us. He prayed for our faith and our belief to come; that our belief would come and remain to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. He had already informed the Apostles (and us) that trouble was coming: unrelenting trouble. (16:17-33)

“You believe at last,” Jesus answered.

He had spoken to them deeply about His “God-ness” and they had finally understood and declared their belief in Him. It was a miraculous event. And Jesus “looked toward heaven and prayed.”

He prayed for Himself; He prayed for the Apostles, who were being given a great responsibility; and He prayed for us. (vs 20) He covered it all and He called on the Father to keep His promises: those made to Jesus, Himself, and those made to the ones who did and would believe in Him.

And then I thought: This chapter should be read every—every what: Every year? Every month? Every day? What a strengthening it would be to remind ourselves that Jesus prayed for us before He returned into heaven; even before He was crucified. And He prayed with absolute assurance that giving us into the Father’s hands was the greatest thing He could do for us; calling on the Father to keep the promises He had made to Jesus about us. Wow! What else do we need than that?

I will follow, I will follow you.  I will follow, I will follow you.

Lord, will You be my vision,
Lord, will You be my guide
Be my hope, be my light and the way
And I'll look not for riches, nor praises on earth
Only You'll be the first of my heart

For this is what I'm glad to do
It's time to live a life of love that pleases You
And I will give my all to You
Surrender everything I have and follow You
I'll follow You

May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart
Bless Your name, bless Your name, Jesus
And the deeds of the day and the truth in my ways
Speak of You, speak of You, Jesus

I'll follow You

I will follow, I will follow you. I will follow, I will follow you.

(Tim Hughes, May the Words of My Mouth)

So you might notice that the words are out of order, but that is deliberate: my thoughts today are of the sufficiency of God to meet our needs and our need to let Him lead us through all facets of our lives: And that we can have a life abundant and full of Joy and happiness if we do. That is what Christ prayed for: That we will know the Joy and Peace He offers us, no matter what is happening to us or around us. And that will bring about the words of our mouth being pleasing unto Him.

May we all declare today: I will follow, I will follow you. I will follow, I will follow you. And we cannot thank you enough Lord Jesus for giving us to the Father for safe keeping, forever and for always. In Jesus name, Amen